Thursday, March 7, 2013

I am hesitant to talk about this too much until I physically have it in my hands, there's all kinds of things that could change...

But recently, Rob Liefeld, comic book artist, Image Comics founder and creator of a multitude of characters you know like Cable and Deadpool at Marvel and Youngblood, Prophet and Supreme at Image, held a writing competition where he picked three short stories to draw and publish.

Cable & Deadpool (c) copyright Marvel Ent.

Youngblood (c) copyright Rob Liefeld

Supreme, Glory, Prophet & Bloodstrike (c) copyright Rob Liefeld

Love him or hate him, if you've been a comic book fan

in the last 20 years, you know who Rob Liefeld is.

Rob has done some work at DC Comics recently when they launched their New 52, and he's also been overseeing other creators working on his characters, like Erik Larsen's recent Supreme run and Brandon Graham's revival and reimaging of Prophet. Rob is a polarizing figure in the comic industry, and I happen to like his style of comics, so I pitched a few stories, not really knowing what he was looking for, and...

AS YOU CAN SEE, I WAS ONE OF THE WINNERS! I'M GONNA HAVE A COMIC PUBLISHED!!!!1!!

Well, that's the idea at least. It's a long road to a finished comic, I've sent in the plot and page breakdowns for a six page story and that's where it's at now. Rob's a seat-of-his-pants kind of guy and as far as I can tell, he picked five stories to publish in GIANT-SIZE YOUNGBLOOD #1. He originally said he was going to pick three stories and draw them himself in different comics, so I'm not sure how it'll be at this point, if he's drawing them all or not.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Don't worry, this is not some sad rant
where I pour my feelings out to the internet...

About a year ago while dicking off at
work, I came across a post on www.stuffyouwillhate.com about an
independent music producer and DJ "JUST TRYNA BLOW UP." Depressed
Teenager first got my attention with an irreverent, satirical, and
most of all funny commentary on his own music, and he posted all his tracks free on
the internet, so it was a no-brainer- all it was going to cost was my
time. And how cheaply I got off!

As with any song that I fall in love
with, I listened to it constantly, and eventually dissected it,
tracing it back to it's origin- a Rick Ross song that was, like
everything Rick Ross does, boring and derivative.

What I connected with even more than
Depressed Teenager's obviously professional-level producing was this
sort of ever-present acknowledgment of depression. Most people do
anything they can to avoid depression, yet here was someone literally
putting it in front of everything he did. As someone who has battled
depression for most of my life, I was surprised and impressed that
someone trying to make it in the music industry didn't take the easy
route and just made songs about gettin' paper and doin' drugs like
everyone else.

Since then, I've downloaded everything
Depressed Teenager put out- singles, remixes, mixtapes. I've followed
him on twitter and tumblr and bandcamp and soundcloud, always waiting for when
he'll put out new music... and when the rest of the world will
discover what they've been missing.

Wanting to do my part to get the word
out, I asked Depressed Teenager if he'd be willing to do an
interview, and he graciously agreed.

Nate Fiala: You've tweeted that
you're putting out a 7-inch split EP with Enpedestalment. Is that the
new album you've been talking about or are these separate projects?

Depressed Teenager: hey dude first of all i wana say i
appreciate your support and i thank you. the project i am doing with
enpedestalment isnt the album i've been talking about. that one
will be a split 7" vinyl (already sold out) . the only chance of
hearing that is prolly gonna be to buy the test press for 200 bux off
some euro. bid hard. i definitely do have a regular solo album coming
. i am working ok new music designed to sell and i need everyone to
buy it. im gonna have rappers on there and slams and new tips about
overcoming depression .it will come out in february or something. its
called ' leave me the fuck alone' and it features hella rappers and
famous people on it. there will be like 9 or 10 different genres and
everyone is gonna want to suck my dick when they hear it. that is a
fact.

NF: What software / gear do you use?

DT: i use my laptop and a crack version
of ableton and serato for diong mixes. and my ibanez guitar for
writing slams and shit too

NF: What's an average day like for you?

DT: wake up and go on the internet for
like 9 hours then get pissed off cuz i did nothing all day and then
maybe make a track then get stoned and pass out . i dont do shit

NF: What kind of music do you like to
listen to?

DT: i enjoy listening to all kinda of
music. u could pretty much tell what kind of music i like by what
kind of music i make or play in my mixes. i like night core, punk
music, slam ,dance music, reggaeton, all kinds of shit. music is
music 2 me im tryna break down the walls and barriers.

NF: Do you make your own album cover
artwork?

DT: i do all my own art work . as you
can tell i have a very unique style and this is only something i can
create. i wish i didnt have to do my own art because im not trying to
be a artist im trying to be a friggin musician but at the end of the
day im the only person whos good enough to do my artwork

NF: Not to sound like a noob, but I
don't fully understand what a 'mixtape' is. Can you explain that for
me?

DT: a mixtape can be alot of things.
for me its usually just a dj mix of songs i like. like a live dj set
but recorded and put online. but the word mixtape is pretty vague
nowadays people put out 15 original tracks and call it a mixtape. i
usually just lurk soundcloud and find songs i think are cool and play
them .i like showing love to other undergroun artists. the little
bridges between songs is just me mixing and shit ya know

NF: Can you tell me a little bit about
your feelings on depression and why it's such a big part of your
music?

DT: as far as depression goes i
definitley try to poke fun at some very serious topics and im not
trying to offend anyone who might have mental issues or shit that
theyre going thru. i definitely go thru it and have days that i cant
even get myself out of bed and shit. i go thru it to a degree so i
understand . i definitely didnt start doing what i do with a purpose
but i think one kinda naturally was created and i think making shit
that people who are fucked up can relate to is worth doing. all the
'regular' shit talking about having a great life and having tons of
money, seeing and hearing that shit all day is fuckin depressing and
not easy to relate to sometimes . i guess theres plenty of music that
touches on being sad and fucked up but none of it is really shit you
can dance to so i guess thats something new that i do. I definitely
hope that by poking fun at shit like being gay and depressed i am
helping people get thru their day by havin a laugh or whatver. at the
end of the day this is art and its suppose to be an escape so im
happy if i can provide that. im definitely not tryna poke fun AT
people i hope they are laughing with me im one with the underdogs
for sure.

NF: When I was first trying to find you
on the internet, I googled 'depressed teenager music' and came across
somearticles that, basically, say that music causes depression in
teens. What do you think about that?

DT: i think that those articles that
say listening to music is a cause of teenage depression is fuckin
bullshit. "one good thing about music , when it hits you feel
no pain" - bob marley. music is like the one thing that always
makes me happy. ive made a lot of my tracks when i was depressed or
sad and making music always puts me in a better place. thats one of
those things where they are just analyzing numbers and % and not
figuring out shit. people who spend more time listening to music are
maybe doing it because they are depressed. they arent depressed
because theyre listening to music. ya know?

NF: Have you ever watched Eastbound
& Down? It's a show that has emotional highs and lows and
addresses depression in a different way than usual.

DT: i have seen eastbound and down i
think thats a great show. i ddefinitely have thought about my lifes
ups and downs when im watching it.

DT: no.. people need to start realizing
that my live performances are john blaze ... i need a publicisitist !

NF: Is there anything you'd like to say
to your fans?

DT: i wana say to my fans to please
leave me the fukk alone. dont ask me who depressed teenager is or
personal questions about me. none of u are my friends and i want u to
fuck off !! also i wana say thank you so much for listening to my
music and supporting me and id have quit doing this a long time ago
if it wasnt for all u people who listen to my shit and give me cool
feed back and shit, so i thank u from the bottom of my heart. also
please buy my shit this year because depressed teenager has to pay
the bills this shit is not a game. also i am not gay and im not
homophobic either. leave me alone

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Here it is, finally, the jpegs that constitute my minicomic are here, for teh intarwubs to consume and enjoy. I was GOING to put it into a PDF so you ravenous mongrels couldn't bastardize my art into your own, but fuck it, I'm lazy. And like you were really gonna steal my art anyway... So here it is. Click to enlarge and enjoy!